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Rogue tactics
=General Tactics= Weapons Daggers are good for fast attacks, working well with Rogue Poisons. Obviously, they are also required for certain abilities such as Backstab and Ambush. Maces and Swords are useful for their higher base damage. Although the overall DPS should roughly balance out with daggers, combat-specced rogues who rely on Sinister Strike (SS) will see significant gains from the increased weapon damage - as SS damage is based on the weapon damage. Many players will argue that this SS damage will outweigh anything else. Currently there's no one answer, with some rogues swearing by daggers and poisons, and others swearing by swords/maces and SS. Here are some points to consider: *Daggers are faster, and so give a smoother damage distribution. Maces/Swords give a more spiky damage distribution *Daggers will apply poisons more frequently and reliably *Daggers will suffer durablity loss faster *Backstab and Ambush are situational and can take time to setup - SS is simple and easy, and always works *Backstab does more damage than Sinister Strike, especially if you get the talents for it when you can reach very high crit rates. *Rogue Talents offer a specific talent for each weapon. Each has its benefits *In the lower levels in particular, there is a much higher availability of good swords and maces than daggers *At lower levels, the raw DPS of the weapon is likely to be most important, as talent builds don't take major effect until the mid 30s *At higher levels you will usually open with Cheap Shot rather than Ambush - unless you think you can take the enemy down very very fast. Cheap Shot doesn't require the use of a dagger. *Soloing, you can only use Backstab as an opener or after a move such as Gouge. Both of these take up time when you could just be hitting your enemy with Sinister Strike All in all, the level of debate on the forums goes to show that there's no one way to play a Rogue. Ultimately you are probably best off trying out the different styles to see which works best for you. Blind Blind uses a reagent, which is created from fadeleaf. You can collect this if you have herbalism - otherwise, you will have to either purchase it from other players, or you can get it from kurzen medicine men in stranglethorn vale. One fadeleaf will allow you to make 3 blinding powders. Blind is most useful in a PvP environment, typical uses include: *to aid a getaway, particularly if Vanish is down - or just as added insurance. *when you get snared or rooted - most of these effects won't outlast the 10 second duration of the blind, so effectively the two moves cancel one another out. *to buy some time to bandage or reposition yourself *as a ghetto form of Crowd Control Poisons See Rogue Poisons for information on the actual creation of poisons. Crippling Poison The most useful poison is probably crippling poison, used to snare your enemies. Instant Poison Instant poison is useful for just adding flat-out DPS. DoT Poison DoT poison is useful against other rogues, to stop them from going into stealth. Mind Numbing Poison The mind-numbing poison works well against casters, but it can be a close call whether its best to just use say instant poison to kill them quicker, as rogues already have quite a few good anti-caster tactics. Picking Pockets Pickpocket is one of the bread-and-butter skills of the Rogue. An easy way to raise your cash flow starting at a mere level 4. Some have wondered, why pickpocket a mob when I can just kill it and take its stuff? Pickpocketing loots from a different pool, so you can double your take. Here are a few tips to remember. * Try to be behind your target. Pickpocket has limited range and stealth is 75% level versus level. Higher level targets will often growl at you, this is a hint that you're too close, but it's also a great chance to circle your target and examine it's pockets. * If a monster is patrolling an area, try to catch it mid-route instead of waiting for it to stop. If it stops, it can turn around and catch you mid theft. * After level 22 Distract is a very good way to keep your marks in position for you to rob them. It also improves your chances of success. * If a pickpocket goes bad in an area full of enemies, remember to fall back on tricks like Sprint and Vanish to escape. =PvP Tactics= Solo PvP # Stealth is your friend but know its limitations! #*You may want to test the full limitations of stealth if you do not already know them with a friend in a duel. Once you know its limitations know what different level variations do to the limiations. In solo PvP stealth is the number one priority as your best bet at winning a battle is getting that first hit in. # Assess the situation. #*If you don't think you can handle it yet or are waiting for the right moment be patient. Many times in solo PvP you will find that your enemy gives you the best oportunities if you just wait. # Know your specials #*Cheap Shot is arguably the best opener in PvP and PvE. You instantly get 2 combo points leaving you open to many options and your opponent is stuck stunned as you beat on them. Cheapshot however isn't always the best choice depending on number of enemies, armor class of your enemies, and level difference. A well placed ambush can instantly kill a cloth armored enemy and allow you to work on the tougher enemy. #**On another note some may not know this but distract does work in PvP. The exact same as in PvE other than the player can move around after initial distraction. You can use this to make sure you hit them where it counts - Their backs. # Poisons are key! #*Before you begin know what types you plan on attacking or where you are. Choosing your Rogue Poisons can be tricky and most people fail to understand some of the variables going into the fight. You should put your poison with the either the most damage or the lowest apply percentage on your main hand. For instance if you are going to use Instant Poison and Deadly Poison you may want to consider putting Instant on your main and Deadly on your off-hand. This allows your main to do most of the damage and if you use slice-and-dice you can still apply the full amount of deadly poison. # You don't always need to kill them all at once. #*With Vanish you are able to give yourself a second chance at a battle. Use this when fighting groups to give yourself some time to regen a little and keep them on edge. A group on edge will more than likely mess up at some point rather than someone who is calm and thinks they have it under control. # Potions, Food, and Bandages #*You should always have a well stocked supply of each of these for the ability to do many things very quickly. Bandages when used right start you with a fresh slate and using food buffs as well as Thistle Tea to regen your energy bar to full on a tough opponent can help immensly. Equipping Yourself In PvP your primary goal is to drop Healers and Mages first, because you have the ability to sneak around the battle and get to these players with ease, this obviously makes damage a priority. While it is true that most Priest and Mage characters have really low hitpoints, Rogue is a more hit-and-run PvP character then a stand-and-fight type. Focus your equipment on the highest Melee Power possible, Agility being your primary and Strength being your secondary. All your equipment should have at least some bonus to Agility and you should have the best DPS weapons you can buy with +damage enchantments. ~ RenegadeMyth Group PvP In group PvP, a rogue's role can be split into the following: # Take out specific targets fast - especially Priests and Mages # Interrupt casters - kick, gouge, kidney shot, mind-numbing poisons # Scout ahead for the group # Save your own group's priests/mages # Limited crowd control - sap, blind, stun-locks The rogue's main strength is probably their ability to mess with the casters. Firstly, their low AC and hp makes them relatively vulnerable to quick surprise attacks. Secondly, we can interrupt much of their spell casting, even their instants if mind-numbing poison hits. Finally, we can keep them stunned for a fairly long duration. A typical rogue might hang-back in the first seconds of battle until confusion kicks in, before sneaking around the back to where the casters are. Priests are often best attacked with a Cheap Shot to keep them stunned, but against a Mage who can Blink right out of a cheapshot, an Ambush may be best. If you can move quickly and catch an enemy not already engaged, then Sap is another good option to take them out of the battle briefly. Once the rogue has made their first move, there are two main options. You can either stay in the thick of things (suits the combat builds well) or you can back out and try to return from stealth (suits the assasination/subtlety rogues more). Strategic use of Vanish can also be very powerful, but be sure to check for any DoTs on you first. Raid PvP =PvE Tactics= Solo PvE Quick and Easy Battle for lower level Rogues # Draw aggro by throwing a couple of knives from the farthest possible distance. # When the mob is near, use Gouge to immobilize him. # Go behind and use Backstab. # You should have two combo points by now. Use some sinister strikes as needed. If the mob still has plenty of health, use sinister strikes to accumulate five combo points. # Eviscerate. # Rinse and repeat (as necessary). Alternatively, open up by sneaking up behind them, use pickpocket and then backstab or Ambush if you are high enough. Equipping Yourself Rogues main attribute is Agility and should be the foremost thing equipment is chosen for. In PvE situations, it's best to also have equipment that boosts Stamina as Rogues generally have low hitpoints. Each point of Stamina equals 10 more hitpoints. Spirit is also helpful to avoid long downtimes between fights. ~ RenegadeMyth Group PvE General Whatever the situation, the key thing to remember is that you are there to deal damage and up the group's average DPS. In practice, this means two things - killing things fast, and minimising downtime. Killing things fast is, in general, the easy bit. The Rogue is born for this very task! Minimising downtime typically means not dying, and making the Tank take all the hits. Make good use of Feint if you find you're stealing aggro from the tank. Conversely, if you see a cloth-wearer in trouble, help them out and try to pull the mob off them and onto you. For emergencies, be ready to use abilities such as Gouge, Kidney Shot and Evasion - these can make the difference between life and death for the group. Equipping Yourself Rogues are the most useful in group situations. Since you want to increase the group's DPS it's necessary to focus your equipment on Agility. Every point of Agility raises your Melee Power by 1. Your secondary focuses should be in Strength, then Stamina. Strength also raises Melee Power by 1 for each point, but Agility also raises Armor, your chance for Critical Hits and your ability to Dodge and Parry. ~ RenegadeMyth Outdoors Outdoors, your main role is simply dealing damage. You may, on occassion, have to help out with some Crowd Control using Sap before a pull. Instances Enter a dungeon and the Rogue can really start to shine. You are the group's eyes and ears. Make sure you know how to use Distract and Stealth to move about undetected. Your role will be to scout ahead and call the shots. Quite often you won't be the actual puller, but you will direct the puller to tell them what mobs are around. You will also be called upon to use Sap a fair bit (the Improved Sap talent comes in very handy here). Once battle commences, your role is much as it is in any other group situation. However, you'll often find mobs are elite and have a very high AR, making you less effective than normal. If this is the case, be ready to use other abilities such as Rupture, and also Expose Armor if there's no Warrior (as they'll likely use Sunder Armor). One of the biggest threats in an instance is that a mob will run when low on health, and call its buddies to help. Make sure to keep Crippling Poison on your weapons to prevent this happening. Raid PvE ---- Go to Rogue Go to Rogue Category Tactics, Rogue